23
by bethegentleone
Summary: The classic, 4x23. This is what I had in mind when "Always" aired. A couple of one-shots, rather unrelated and mostly short. Enjoy!
1. In the Doorframe

He drifted slowly into consciousness as soft rays of sunlight dyed his bedroom in warm shades of gold and orange. He was happy, so fundamentally happy like he hadn't been in quite some time. And then, gently, it dawned on him. _Kate._ She had come – and she had stayed, and everything after was absolute bliss in his unbelieving mind. But it had definitely happened – the sheets and cushions were still in obvious chaos, and he saw her clothes rambled in a sloppy pile next to his bed. So where was she?  
Just as he had managed to untangle the blankets from his feet and legs, he saw her, barefoot and wearing nothing but one of his white shirts. God, he would never forget this picture of her amazing beauty plunged in the golden morning light, her messy curls framing the most wonderful smile on her lips and in her eyes. Oh, was that coffee in her hands? He hadn't noticed. Though one could argue he was also gravely distracted by the exposed length of her legs.

"Good morning" she said with a sleepy husk in her voice and stood still on the doorframe.  
"Hey" was the best he could do, a permanent smile curving in his cheeks. She seemed uncertain what to do and her gaze wandered around quite shyly without resting on his.

"You're here."

"I'm not planning on leaving, too.", she looked up, "if you don't mind me hanging around, that is." He grinned and she did, too, pacing softly towards his nightstand to place the coffee beside them. For a second it felt like everything was just like always, their banter and coffee and that kind of familiarity they always seemed to share. Well, except Kate was sitting on the edge of his bed and his shirt was way too large to cover her skin where her skin was usually covered; slipping slightly lower with every breath she was taking.


	2. Two Cups of Coffee

QUICK REMINDER: These are one-shots, so even if there seems to be a chronology, it's actually just a coincidence. I'm gonna post a couple of other scenes that will be very different, too. Enjoy!

She had just stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in one of those fluffy white towels he was keeping in his bathroom. She still couldn't believe that she was actually standing in his bathroom. Not just any bathroom, not just any man. It was him who had taken care of her, kept her under his wing and promised her to never let her go again. She tiptoed out of the bathroom trying not to wake him, but he was already stirring in his sleep. She stood still on the spot watching how he was slowly finding his way back to the daylight. Back to her. And it plastered a huge smile all over her face.

"Good morning, Sunshine." He was blinking with heavy lids until he saw her.

"How long have you been up?" She came to sit on the edge of his bed, her hair still dripping wet over her shoulders.

"Mm, not that long. I only got up to make breakfast, cleaned up all the mess you had in your kitchen, got myself a cup of coffee – no, wait, it's been two, actually – then I took a quick shower –"

"Alright, so you've been keeping yourself quite busy already all while I've been sleeping like a baby." She smiled at him. That radiant, infectious smile that drew one of the same kind onto his face.

"It's not like I mind staying in this ridiculously luxurious apartment of yours. I'm impressed by the water temperature in your shower, by the way. It was perfect. I think from now on I'm just gonna take every single shower at your place." He sat up to look at her on eye level.

"Well, thank god that I have such a great shower."


	3. Scared

Scared

He hesitated, frozen in movement while she was still holding on to his biceps. "What's wrong?" she murmured, worry all too visible in her eyes. "I'm scared" he said quietly. She sat up onto her elbows. "Of what?" She felt his hand leaving her back at one side, and then back on her cheek. "I'm scared that I'll get to be this close to you once and never again."


	4. Felt it

"So… I'm kinda disappointed," she said, "this is not how I pictured our John Woo marathon, to be perfectly honest."

He turned his head so he could see her face, which was currently resting on his chest. "Well, I totally did, to be perfectly honest, Beckett."

She couldn't hide her grin. It was such a Castle thing to say. Not that she minded his attitude. Especially after those last weeks. It was about time for them and finally – _finally_ she was in the right place, too, she thought, nestled between his arms and one leg draped loosely across his thigh. She was just so damn happy.

"Are you… Is this you blushing?"

"No," she responded a bit too quickly, very much aware of the hot blush creeping up her cheeks at rapid speed.

"It's like you're glowing."

"How could you even see that, it's pitch dark in here."

Castle lifted his hand from her hip and lazily brushed a stray of hair off her face. "Actually, I can feel it–"

"Oh, please, that sounds so cheesy—"

"—on my skin."

"Oh."

He chuckled softly. She loved this sound; it was so different from the way he laughed when they were with the boys. So new and intimate. Just like… his warm hand, which had found its way back to her hip. God, she could never let him stop touching her. Not that she would ever admit this to him. (His other hand started tracing her lower back, light and gently.) Well, at least not now where she felt totally incapable of saying anything at all besides sighing sweetly.

"You know," he said, drawing circles over her shivering skin, "you're right. I didn't picture it like this."

She opened her eyes, which had fallen shut without her permission.

"At least not the part where you jumped at me right in the door frame. That wasn't exactly the classic Kate Beckett move."

She freed her arm from under his and let her hand rest at his cheek. "No, it wasn't. That's because you didn't deserve a classic Kate Beckett move." She pushed herself up high enough to look him straight into the eyes. "You deserve much more than that."

He hadn't let go of her for a second and held on to her back even tighter. "That's not true."

"Oh, yes it is. I was being a coward for the better part of the last four years."

"You weren't ready, Kate. We both weren't. It's not like I didn't want this, because, you know, I wanted this _so_ badly, but I mean, look at me."

"…yes..," she said grinning down at him with hungry eyes.

"No, I mean—" He laughed, vibration shaking both of them. "I mean I wasn't in a place where I would have appreciated it the way I do right now. It wouldn't have been as great and beautiful and maddeningly complicated—" he was interrupted by her low chuckle, "as it was tonight."

"You know, the night's not over yet, Castle," she said biting her lip, her hand snaking around his neck so casually as if she'd been doing this every day for years already.

"I am very much aware," he said as he pressed his palm against her pelvis, urging her flush against him. He didn't see her huge smile. He felt it on his lips straight away.


	5. Stay

DISCLAIMER: This one starts out less light and happy than the other ones. It is longer, though. Enjoy and leave a review!

He woke of a sudden and knew something was different. He felt like something had happened that he had trouble grasping yet, like the blurry vision of a dream somewhere in the middle of half-sleep and awareness. Then it hit him. The kisses, the touches, the smell of her skin – still fresh on the covers. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing her smiling up to him. Feeling her thumb on his jaw. Tangled memories in the dark space of his mind, getting brighter and clearer by the minute. This was incredible. Sleep called him back to get some rest, but it stood no chance against his speeding heart.

Until it came to an abrupt halt – where was she? Wait. He remembered clothes where he found none. No blouse sloppily over the back of the chair, no jeans on the floor, no heels, nothing at all. His hands searching blindly for some shirt to put on, he freed his leg from the rambled sheets and tumbled out of the bedroom. The soles of his feet pushed against the cool floor in frantic speed.

"Kate!"

It echoed through the apartment. There was no answer. No one in the kitchen, no one in his office. He knocked cautiously at the bathroom door. With no response. He even went upstairs to search the entire upper floor. To look for her and for even the slightest chance that she might still be here. Nothing. A heavy, crushing nothing. There was no note. He was all alone and she had vanished like stars in the daylight. It was impossible. She had been so very happy last night. What had happened?

"Hi. Leave a message. I'll call you back."

Castle groaned in frustration and somewhat anxiety. He stared at the door, contemplating what to do next. No drop of coffee in his blood, and still his pulse was racing. There was a strong temptation to go to her apartment and see her again. But he wasn't sure if he should. After all, what would await him? A Kate Beckett that regretted last night. A Kate Beckett who had gone straight into hiding because she thought being with him was a mistake. On the other hand, this exact kind of thinking had driven them both straight into misery weeks ago. They should have learned their lesson by now. So he grabbed his keys and closed the same door behind him that now held so many new memories.

* * *

It wasn't unusual for him to hold two cups of coffee. It wasn't unusual for him to stand in front of Kate's apartment and wait for her to open the door. He had been here more than just a few times in the past couple of years after all. The unusual part was that she didn't. He had knocked twice now, the second time more forcefully than the first because he thought she hadn't heard him at first. But she had and he knew it. He had even called her a second time to make sure she was home and a faint ringing had crept into the hallway.

"Kate," he began, his voice still trying not to shake of nervousness. "Kate, please, open up."

Silence. Then, reluctantly, footsteps. This was so uncomfortable. He had never been in the situation that she didn't say anything. Normally she was the one who did the reasoning.

"Look, I know that you're in there and that something must be wrong and—"

He paused as the door opened for a crack. She seemed in disarray somehow, that was the first thing he noticed, the usual brightness in her face was considerably dimmed.

"Hey." Her voice was nothing but a rasp.

"Can I come in?"  
She looked at him and sighed.

"Yeah, just don't— don't look around too much. It's a mess in here."

She stepped back to let him in and he almost brushed against her in the small doorframe. Why did she have to smell like that? God, he wanted to pull her against him and kiss her all over again. Instead, he pointed at the cups.

"I brought coffee."

"I see that. Thanks, Castle." She gently grabbed her cup and turned to sit on the couch.

"So," he started, "talk to me. What's wrong, detective?"

"Actually, that's what's wrong. I'm not a detective anymore, Castle."

He stopped short.

"What? I mean… what is that supposed to mean?"

"That means that I don't work at the NYPD anymore. I quit."

"When did you—"

"Yesterday. Pretty much before I came to your place." She looked up. It was the first time she mentioned last night, and for a moment he thought there was longing in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, that seems like an easy question, Castle. I was kinda busy at the time." Then, there it was. A smile. Finally some sign of that same happiness that he painfully wanted to see again. And it was that smile that pushed him onto the couch to cradle her head and kiss her. She took a shuddering breath and curled her arms around his neck. His weight lay softly against her while the fabric of her shirt moved up her skin without her noticing. He still cupped her face, though, as they parted for air.

"Why did you leave?," he whispered against her forehead and brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. Kate didn't blink.

"Because I was scared." She pulled him closer. "You know, I woke up this morning and I panicked. I thought "What am I gonna do with my life?" and then I saw you and I didn't – I just didn't think you would still want me if I'm not that kickass life-saving Police Detective anymore. I mean, that's kinda who you fell in love with, right? Nikki Heat."

He'd been shaking his head for a while now, stunned by her train of thought.  
"Well, first of all," he said, beginning to kiss a trail along her jaw, "I thought I made myself very clear last night about whether or not I want you, and second of all," he said as he reached the shell of her ear, "I didn't fall in love with your badge. I fell in love with you." He pulled away to look her in the eye. "I love you."

Tears got caught up in her lower lashes and stayed there. She just touched the corner of his mouth, biting her own lip in awe.

"You are amazing, you know that?"

"I am perfectly aware, thank you very much," he said, earning her chuckle and a kiss. There were very few sounds that he liked better than the small humming noise that escaped her throat, he realized. Neither could he imagine something as beautiful as the picture of her wrapped around him and smiling in ecstasy.

"So. What would you like to do today?" He tugged at the fabric of her shirt.

"Mm. I don't know. We could read." She lifted her arms and pushed it off.

"We could watch TV." His hands began to roam all over her skin, embracing her hips.

"Yeah, we could get something to eat." She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

"We could do that." He kissed her neck and collarbone.

"Or—" He heard her grinning.

"Or," he echoed, "we could—"

"—pick up where we left off this morning." Her hands found his jaw and she pulled him up to her face. "And just so you know, I'm not going anywhere. Besides the bedroom."

His chuckle was drowned in them as she closed the distance.


End file.
